By Noël Coward. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre, University of Adelaide, August 11 -21, 2021
Blithe Spirit is one of Noël Coward’s iconic plays, along with Private Lives, Present Laughter and Hay Fever. First seen in the West End in 1941, it created a new long-run record for non-musical British plays and also did well on Broadway later that year.
This year marks its 80th anniversary, following a new film adaption in 2020 starring Judi Dench as the inimitable Madame Arcarti (first played on stage by Margaret Rutherford).
By William Shakespeare. Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Directed by Ayesha Gibson. fortyfivedownstairs. Watch at Home: 4 – 18 August, 2021.
There has been a determination to see this performance come to fruition despite the continual last-minute changes to scheduling due to COVID. As a result, this formidable performance of Lear is available to view online. While the recording could be more imaginative and technically proficient, the numerous strong points of the production are perfectly captured. Evelyn Krape as King Lear is magisterial. Her rendition of his sense of absolute power has a blatant stubbornness which is infused with arrogance.
Concept and story by Amelia Burke, Madeline Clouston and Jake Nielsen. Book by Madeline Clouston, music and lyrics by Jake Nielsen, music by Matthew Predny. Blonde Moment and co-producers Western Sky Projects. Directed by Jake Nielsen. City of Gosnells, Don Russell Performing Arts Centre,Thornlie, WA. Aug 6-7, 2021
Miss Westralia is a gorgeous home-grown musical about a wonderful Western Australian woman. This updated show, which premiered at the Blue Room Theatre in 2019, is completing a regional tour, which included performances in Geraldton, the home town of Beryl Mills, the first Miss Australia and heroine of this show.
By Vera Morris and Bill Francoeur. Murray Music and Drama Club. Directed by Carole Dhu. Pinjarra Civic Centre, WA. Jul 30-Aug 7,2021
Horror Musical Theatre is perhaps one of the more obscure of the musical theatre sub-genres, but Murray Music and Drama Club have embraced the style and have managed to produce a very effective production of the scary Sleepy Hollow. Possibly the Western Australian debut of this musical, this large cast show allows a big cast to shine.
By Richard Alfieri. Directed by Karin Staflund. KADS Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda. 23 Jul - 7 Aug, 2021
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a strong two-hander, with clear direction and a talented cast, shortly to finish its run at KADS’ Theatre in Kalamunda
The story of Lily, an elderly lady in Florida, and her dance teacher Michael, it is the meeting of two lonely people who develop a special relationship between dancing the Viennese Waltz, the Tango and the Cha Cha.
By Alan Bennett. Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe, Qld. Directed by Graeme Roberts. July 30 – August 15, 2021
This play is the basically true story of Alan Bennett’s strained relationship and friendship with a Miss Mary Shepherd, a grubby, eccentric woman whom he allowed to park her van in the driveway for three months but who stayed for fifteen years. We, as he does, learn so much about this unusual, very different woman and the effect she has on Bennett. Much of the dialogue is between two versions of Bennett – his “real” self and his “writer” self.
By Vidya Rajan. Squid Vicious. Directed by Andrew Sutherland. The Studio, The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Jul 22- Aug 7, 2021
Squid Vicious’ Small and Cute Oh No is a rather dark comedy set at Christmas time in the staff break room at a shopping mall.
Andrew Sutherland has assembled an exceptional cast who work together with expertise, creating three beautifully broken characters (and a smattering of support roles). An examination of the weird, wonderful and complex people you meet in retail, it is an interesting look at understanding each other…and not.
Devised & performed by Allegra Di Lallo, An Dang, Theo Boltman, Casper Plum, Flora Feldman, Marshall Morgan, Asha Randall-Sheppard, Ella Simons & Frankie Willcox; performance text by Izzy Roberts-Orr; dramaturg Vidja Raja. La Mama. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton. 30 July – 11 August 2021.
A joyous piece of collaborative invention by the teenage cast and adult theatre makers (too many to list here), The Mermaid takes off from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 tale and makes something funny, moving, and sophisticated. Part agit-prop, part comedy-drama, part satire and stand-up, the text throws in references to the 1989 subversive Disney animation, to Sophia Coppola’s aborted movie of the fairy tale (including quotes from the script), and a repeated catalogue of all the acts of misogynistic vandalism perpetrated on the famous statue in Copenhagen.
By Laura Annawyn Shamus from the book by Joan Lindsay. Stray Cats Theatre Company. Directed by Karen Francis. The Fishtrap Theatre, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, WA. July 28 - Aug 1, 2021
Stray Cats Theatre Company’s Picnic at Hanging Rock is a gentle but unnerving retelling of this famous Australian story. A horror story in beautiful packaging, this production is well acted, looks gorgeous, but may induce nightmares.
By Suzie Miller. Directed by Lee Lewis. Bille Brown Theatre. Queensland Theatre. July 14 – August 7, 2021
As an ex-lawyer, writer Suzie Miller has seen all sides of the Australian legal system – founded, of course, on British patriachy, established mainly to protect wealthy land-owners in the middle ages. It's an old order, deeply steeped in Latin terminology and ancient practice. The fact that legal aid was introduced in Australia in the 1970s only highlights that this this is a system that doesn't like change. So how does it serve us today?
